


To The End

by Zoemei303



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, Careers (Hunger Games), Character Death, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:36:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29768727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoemei303/pseuds/Zoemei303
Summary: "I promised together or not at all"~ Clato backstory, Their time in the Hunger Games, mostly canon compliant, slight canon divergence ~
Relationships: Cato & Clove (Hunger Games)
Kudos: 1





	To The End

**Author's Note:**

> As always, the genius of The Hunger Games 100% belongs to Suzanne Collins. I own no part of it, nor can I claim that any canon part of this fanfiction is my own.  
> I hope you enjoy the read!  
> <3 Zoe

The Beginning

~ Ages 10 & 12 ~

The sharp sting of a knife nicking skin had Clove inhaling sharper as she dodged away from the onslaught of steel being hurled at her. She ducked and slid, clutching her own blade tighter, the solid press of the handle comforting and familiar. With a quick feint to her left, and a sudden spin, she had launched the steel right into the center of the machine sending knifes flying towards her. The Carver hissed and launched a final poorly aimed dagger into the wall behind her before the red blinking light indicating its power, had gone black.

Slow sarcastic claps mixed with Clove's labored breathing.

"Impressive," Phebei drawled, "But not impressive enough."

Clove turned to look at her trainer. Phebei was tall, with a viking like physique and hair the color of spun gold, purer than any mined from District Twelve. She also had a brutal scar down the left side of her face and a black eye patch covering the eye she had lost in her games.

"You moved slower than my nan, and she's had both hips replaced. Imagine if the Carver had been another tribute, they would have sent that knife flying straight between your eyes before you could blink," Phebei jabbed a long finger into Clove's forehead to emphasize. "Your movement wasn't fluid and if the machine had been aiming to kill, you would be dead right now. The only reason that your not is because you at least have a little sense to know that when blood is first drawn, you need to act quickly to avoid more being spilled."

Clove nodded somberly, scuffing her shoe against the training room floor.

"Well? Won't you say something?"

"I'll do better," Clove spoke it quickly, scared of the punishment she might be subjected to if she didn't answer promptly. Timidly she looked up to see how Phebei had reacted to her response. When she looked up though, Phebei wasn't paying any attention to Clove anymore. 

Phebei had a grimace on her face as she inspected the other children training around them, Clove saw her gaze darken as she spotted a particularly uncoordinated boy trip to the ground. Her mood seemed to improve drastically though, when she spotted someone near the center of the training room, so far away Clove couldn't see who she was looking at because of her height. 

"Come," Phebei's large hand curled around Clove's arm leading her towards whatever had caught her eye. "This is true skill right here. He'll be sure to win the games when he plays."

Clove was led to the center of the training room where a blonde boy was sparring with a severe looking trainer. Clove had never seen the blonde before, so he must have been one of the older trainees, a year or two above her perhaps. He was considerably bigger than the other children around them, jaw clenched as he landed an especially solid punch into the trainers jaw. The trainer doubled over, clutching at his jaw as the boy kicked him firmly in the side, effectively knocking the wind from the older man. The boy didn't stop attacking the trainer until he was doubled up on the floor, insisting that the boy stop. Blondie looked reluctant to heed the command, but ultimately didn't continue the assault. 

"Get your ass beat up there have you, Hunt?" Phebei had a manic grin plastered to her normally stoic face. 

Spitting out a mouthful of blood the man, Hunt, shook his head in annoyance, "Got myself a natural born killer, this one. More ruthless than any other student I've taught in the last five years."

"Ha! Don't let any of your other trainees hear that, you know how we victors are about our legacies," Phebei had turned her attention towards the boy now. "You. What's your name?"

"Cato," Blondie, or Cato, said sullenly.

"Well Cato, Clove will be watching you train for the next few months. I'll talk to your trainer here about it, but she needs all the help she can get," Phebei gestured to where Clove was standing awkwardly by the training mat. Clove just gritted her teeth in concealed irritation, hating it when adults talked around her. 

"And what does Cato get out of it, letting such a scrawny little thing watch his every move when they could potential face one another in the arena?" Hunt piped up from where he was still laying on the floor.

Phebei snorted, shifting her arms across her chest, "Clove is nearly two years younger than your trainee. The likelihood of these two competing against one another is slim, but to sweeten the deal for you Hunt..." Phebei paused as though considering what she could offer. After a minute of hushed whispering between the trainers, Hunt finally nodded his agreement. 

Clove saw Cato perk up when Hunt began whispering into his ear quitely. It seemed as though Clove would be the only one who didn't get to know what kind of deal the two had struck up.

"Alright," Cato said. "She can watch." 

~~~~

Clove had never much paid attention to the other students at school. School had never really been her thing, she did what she had to in order to be allowed to continue training at the Institute, but besides the bare minimum, she couldn't care less. This academic neglect travelled over to people as well, Clove couldn't stand them. She abhorred the presence of anyone besides her knifes, so when Phebei and Hunt had insisted that Cato and Clove spend their time together in school as well as at training, she had wanted to claw her own eyes out. 

Lunch, what had normally been a quiet and serious affair, had turned into an outright rave when Cato began sitting at her lunch table. When the blonde had first sat down at her table a week after they had begun her "shadowing", Clove had kept her mouth shut, containing the snark she wanted to express to the oversized twelve year old. 

"So what's your deal, Clover, got any friends?" Cato carned raised a single white blonde brow at Clove.

Clove just rolled her eyes and continued to flip the small knife she always carried back and forth between each hand, imagining how much trouble she would be in if she used her knife and carved away that sickly sweet smile he had plastered onto his face. 

"So your friendless and a mute," Cato's smirk broadened. "Got it."

"Shut your mouth," Clove hissed. "I don't need friends, they're a distraction. I can speak just fine, I just save my words for people who deserve to hear them, not pig headed little boys. And _n_ _ever_ call me Clover. _Ever._ It's not even my name _"_

Clove saw Cato's brows furrow, before he was clenching his jaw in an apparent show of self control. Clove had seen the boy's temper, she knew he probably wanted to reach across the table and wrap his hands around her throat, no doubt he could snap her neck in a heartbeat. 

"If you don't like being called your name, then what do want to be referred to as?" His fists were clenching and unclenching where they rested on the table. Suddenly he began spelling out clover. Letter by letter, as though he was feeling the way each letter sounded coming from his mouth. "C-L-O-V-E-R."

" _Stop_ ," Clove gritted through clenched teeth. "It's not my name and you know it."

"C-L-O-V-E-R," Cato continued to sound each letter out until Clove finally broke.

"Just call me Clove, all right?!" Her hold on her knife tightened as she spat the words out. 

"Hmmm, Clove..." Cato pondered the name. "Clove, can be shortened, no?"

She could feel her annoyance simmering over, but she tried to keep her cool, "Anything can be shortened, can it not?"

"C-L-O-V-E," He was spelling out her name again. "L-O-V-E..."

Clove's could feel her eyes widen comically, "No, no, no-"

"Love!" Cato cut her off mid panic. "I shall call you Love!" 

"Shut _up,_ Blondie!" Clove's self control finally broke as she sent her knife hurtling right into the wall behind Cato's head. The knife had nicked his ear, and she watched in delight as a bead of crimson blood welled up from where the skin had been broken. Cato was staring at her dumbfounded, his hand reaching up and coming away bloody.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts about the story so far! I hope you find it as entertaining as I found it when I was writing and brainstorming the concept.  
> Hopefully there will be updates three times a week, maybe more if I'm not busy. Probably on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.  
> <3 Zoe


End file.
